THE SHORT VERSION

Google pays staff to quit in five countries while AI spending soars

Satirical Zimbo cartoon of an AI-labelled robot typing at an office desk under a SAME WORK BETTER RESULTS sign as a line of laid-off workers carries cardboard boxes toward an EXIT door, the first one saying 'It still needs a human touch.' while a tabby cat paws at his leg. — Machine Age Cartoon · Zimbo

Google confirmed it extended voluntary exit packages to employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland, widening a buyout programme that began in some US and UK teams in 2025 and went global in June.

In Switzerland, where Google employs about 5,000 people, departing staff got one month's salary for every year of service, capped at 12 months — while the programme pointedly excluded DeepMind and Google Cloud, the units actually building the AI.

The exits come as Alphabet's AI bill explodes: capital spending hit $51.4 billion in the third quarter, more than double a year earlier, and free cash flow turned negative at $9.1 billion.